SunSense Certification

Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, despite being HIGHLY PREVENTABLE.

The SunSense Certification acknowledges and celebrates schools that have created a sun safe environment to protect students and staff from harmful ultraviolet radiation. By using a multi-component approach that engages parents, staff and students, schools can influence sun safety behaviours and create a sun safe culture within the school community.

Learning about sun safety and how to enjoy the outdoors in a healthy and safe way is an essential part of every child's education

Schools can gain the title of being a SunSense Certified school by completing a 7-step process outlined in the Certification Guide. At each step, schools will earn points by completing key milestones and activities. Schools that earn enough points are awarded a Gold, Silver, or Bronze level SunSense certificate.

Please review the Certification Guide to learn more about the certification process and the activities your school can complete.

Important Dates

September 3, 2019

Registrations open
(There is a deadline to register for this program, register early!)

November 8, 2019

Deadline to register
(There is a limit to registrations for this program, register early!)

Research indicates that childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is an important contributing factor to the development of skin cancer later in life. But staying inside is not the answer. As Canadian children are spending more time indoors in front of screens, it is imperative that they enjoy the health and wellness benefits of being in the outdoors.

Given students are at school during the highest UVR risk period of the day - between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM - schools can play a major role in both minimizing student's exposure and positively influencing student behaviour by establishing routines that foster healthy, safe enjoyment of the outdoors.

The Canadian Cancer Society provides a number of FREE tools and resources to assist you in meeting your goals. The documents listed below can be downloaded here FREE. UV Bracelets, Fortune Tellers, Parent Information Cards and Posters are available to schools registered in the SunSense certification program. An order form for these materials is included in the registration form.

Certification Guide

The Certification Guide provides detailed information on the certification process and how to earn points towards becoming a SunSense Certified School.

This 20-minute webinar has been developed as part of our SunSense program to provide educators in elementary schools a greater understanding of sun safety and skin cancer prevention in schools. This webinar will also provide an overview of the SunSense program and the FREE resources available to schools that register for the program.

The Fact Sheet can be used to educate parents, staff and students about skin cancer risk and the importance of practicing SunSense. These facts and stats really highlight the need for early intervention to prevent skin cancer.

The policy guide outlines a step-by-step process to develop and implement a sun protection policy for schools. This can also be adapted for other places where children play, learn and are cared for, including camps, post-secondary schools and child care centres.

Ultra Violet (UV) beads come with a string that can be assembled in the form of a bracelet. Students can wear these as a reminder of the presence of UV rays and to practice SunSense when outdoors in the sun. Each package comes enclosed with SunSense tips.

The Teaching Guides above include lesson plan activities using the UV Bracelets.

Available to order with registration.

Fortune Teller

The fortune teller, sometimes called a chatterbox, uses origami to create a trivia game with questions about SunSense practices.

Available to order with registration.

For any questions, please contact the SunSense program lead at the Canadian Cancer Society at:

To become SunSense Certified, each school must complete and submit two reports to the Canadian Cancer Society. These reports can be found below as well as additional tools to help you in planning and meeting your goals.

While the cause of many cancers remains unknown, the reason for this most common cancer is too many sunburns and too much UVR exposure over many years. 1 in 7 people will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime; however, we know that this disease is largely preventable. People under the age of 18 are at the highest risk. Children and youth spend more time outside than adults do - in fact, 80% of people's exposure to UVR occurs before the age of 18.

Use your SunSense to protect yourself from harmful UV rays by practicing the 5 S':

Learn more about being sun safe and test how sun savvy you are by visiting cancer.ca.